Surrendering our privacy from cradle to grave
by Doug Patton
web posted August 5, 2002
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons
or things to be seized."
- Amendment IV, U.S. Constitution
When I started Kindergarten in the fall of 1953, the
administration of public schools was mostly a local matter. Other
than a record of my birth five years earlier, little had probably
been recorded about me at the state or federal level.
In 1964, when I was a sophomore in high school, several key
events put me on the state and federal radar screen. Like all
sixteen-year-olds, I got my driver's license, which was followed
in short order by the purchase of my first car, which, of course,
also had to be registered with the state.
That year I also secured my first paying job. The federal
government immediately issued me a card with my very own
nine-digit number on it. I was assured that it was not for
identification purposes. It even said so right on the card. Soon,
another branch of the government, the Internal Revenue Service,
wanted to know exactly how much money I was making.
Two years later, I graduated from high school and headed off to
college, with a federally guaranteed student loan and a Selective
Service draft deferment. Two more files with my name on them.
In 1968, I decided to work for a semester and try to figure out
what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life. Soon, Uncle
Sam decided to help me with the decision. The letter stated that I
had until April 3, 1969, to choose a branch of the U.S. Armed
Forces or the choice would be made for me. I chose the Air
Force, thereby creating a four-year file on myself.
During that time, my wife and I were married. Another file, at all
levels.
Honorably discharged in 1973, I returned to school on the G.I.
Bill. Regular checks and another file, this time with the Veterans
Administration.
Then came kids, car payments and a mortgage, all recorded in
the annals of government at every level. When we declared our
children on our first itemized income tax return, we were
required to accept a nine-digit number for each of them as well.
As our finances became more sophisticated, we had to
document all of our expenses for the IRS. The amount we give
to charity is known. So is the kind of car I drove for business last
year and how many miles I put on it. Of course, that was no
secret, since it had to be licensed to be legal.
The government knows more about my property than I do. They
have all the information on my home, including its value – which
they determine – in order to charge me a fee for the privilege of
living there.
They know my race, gender, age, health problems, where I was
born, where I live now, and how many guns I own.
They know which church I attend, what candidates I support
and how many credit cards I carry. And a few years ago, when
Bill Clinton was president and I was a state leader in the
Christian Coalition, I suspect that an FBI file with my name on it
was among those illegally stored on White House computers.
Soon, the newly created federal Department of Homeland
Security will send spies into my home to observe and report.
Now they want to know which library books I'm reading.
After all the privacy I have forfeited in the last fifty years, you
wouldn't think that it would bother me any more, would you?
Well, it does.
Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a
speechwriter and policy advisor to federal, state and local
candidates and elected officials. His work is published in
newspapers across the country and on various sites, including
www.GOPUSA.com, where he also serves as the Nebraska
Editor. Contact him at dpatton@neonramp.com. Copyright
2002 by Doug Patton